Hair brushes for personal use



Sept. 0 1955 c. E. MAYNARD 2,718,024

7 HAIR BRUSHES FOR PERSONAL USE 3 Filed April 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR C/lA/YLL'SEDGAR Harman BY WQ ATTOR EYS United States Patent HAIR BRUSHES FOR PERSONAL USE Charles Edgar Maynard, Florence, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Pro-phy-lac-tic Brush Company, Northampton, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application April 19, 1950, Serial No. 156,875 3 Claims. (Cl. 15186) This invention relates to an improvement in hair brushes for personal use.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a construction which will increase the utility and efficiency of such brushes. Another object is to facilitate the manufacture of general purpose hair brushes as well as special purpose hair brushes, and by making more efficient use of the synthetic plastic materials now available and by making possible simplified methods of manufacture and assembly to reduce the cost of manufacture of high quality hair brushes. A further object is to provide a construction which will enable the user to easily maintain the brush in a clean and sanitary condition.

A still further and important object is to provide an all synthetic plastic brush construction having the improved eificiencies above-mentioned, the bristles and their supporting and connecting elements comprising plastic materials which are best suited for the particular function they perform are so combined and arranged that they cooperate to form a unitary structure.

Other and further objects residing in the preferred details of construction will be apparent from the following specification and claims.

This application is a continuation in part of prior application Serial No. 30,111, filed May 29, 1948, now abandoned.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a brush embodying the invention, some of the bristles being omitted to better show the character and arrangement of the bristle receiving openings in the back of the brush;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the brush;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the preferred manner of securing the bristles in place;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing an alternative construction;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view substantially on line 7-7 of Fig. 6 but on an enlarged scale; and V Fig. 8 is a sectional view substantially on line 88 of Fig. 6 but on an enlarged scale.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the-brush is shown as comprising a back 10 which in the type of brush shown is provided with an integral handle portion 11, the back being provided with a multiplicity of bristles 12. The back 10, with its handle, when a handle is desired, is molded from a suitable synthetic plastic preferably of the thermo-plastic type. Any of the synthetic plastic materials commonly used for brush backs, may be used in the construction of the present invention, for example methyl-methacrylate, the vinyl resins including the poly styrenes and the cellulose acetates.

The back may be molded in a conventional automatic injection molding machine and since, for reasons later more fully explained, less material is necessary in the back of a brush construction in accordance with this invention, the cycling time of the machines can be materially shortened as there is less bulk of material to cool oif before the mold can be opened and the charging time is less, thus enabling a larger number of brush backs to be produced by a given machine in a given period of time. This greater efiiciency in the use of the expensive molding equipment secures a substantial reduction in equipment and labor costs. In addition there is a direct saving in a material cost, due to a reduction in the necessary thickness of the back. As compared with the back thickness required to accommodate the metal staples by which tufts of bristles are secured in the back of conventional brushes, the present invention permits a reduction of 50% or more in the thickness of the back.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, which illustrates the invention as applied to a special purpose brush, the back 10 is provided with a multiplicity of openings in the form of round holes 13 in which the individual bristles 12 are secured. These holes 13 may be formed in the brush back during the molding operation or they may be drilled, punched or pressed in the back after the back has been molded. However formed, the openings 13 preferably extend no further into the back 10 than is necessary to provide sufficient wall surface in the openings to permit the end portion of the bristle seated in the opening to be adequately secured thereto by heat sealing as by a suitable thermo-set cement or by welding. If desired the openings may extend through the brush back and while such arrangement would permit the use of a minimum of material in the back, for reasons of appearance and the desirability of ornamental formation of the back it is preferred that the openings be stopped well short of the back surface. A depth of about .1 inch has been found adequate. Preferably the diameter of the hole is approximately .005 to .010 greater than the diameter of the bristle seated therein, since tests have indicated that maximum pull strength is thereby secured.

The bristles are formed as a straight length of a strand or filament of a synthetic plastic material, such as a synthetic linear polymer, preferably stretch oriented nylon. One bristle 12 is mounted in each opening 13 and the end portion of the bristle is preferably secured to the walls of the opening by a suitable cement indicated at 14 which will firmly and rigidly secure the bristle in the opening. A thermo-setting material has been found preferable as a cementing agent, especially when the brush back and the bristle are thermo-plastic. A suitable cementing material for the purpose comprises a phenolic resin which condenses and polymerizes when subjected to relatively low heat, around F., for a period of one to two hours. The temperature is not too critical as long as it is below that at which distortion of the material of the back takes place. The actual time necessary is that required to effect the heat transfer for setting the resin at the temperature and pressure employed. As the phenolic resin sets it bonds firmly to the bristle material and to the material of the brush back. A completely integral structure results.

For the special purposes of the brush shown in Figs. 1 to 5 the bristles are formed from strands of sutficiently large diameter so that each bristle stands stiflly erect and while easily flexible presents sufiicient resistance to bending to give a noticeable pressure against the scalp when the brush is carried through the hair at a depth to bring the ends of the bristles in contact with the scalp. When the body of bristles is moved through the hair out of contact with the scalp the increased bending resistance, as compared with conventional fine bristles, and the fact that the spaced individual bristles find separate and independent paths through the hair, result in a more eificient separation of the strands of hair from each other in the combing out of snags and removal of loose and broken hair strands. The brush moves through the hair with less resistance and far more smoothly and readily and imparts a sheen to the hair, characteristic of vigorous brushing, more quickly than do conventional tufted brushes. The relatively widely spaced bristles at the same time give a combing effect so that the scalp may be stimulated, the hair brushed and arranged with the same implement and each operation is accomplished in a better manner than can be done with the harsh, rigid metal brushes, thick fine tufted brushes and the rigid combs of the prior art. To secure the needed degree of bending resistance to alford the desired pressure against the scalp in the special purpose brush being described, the bristles are formed from a strand of substantially greater diameter than that used in forming the bristles used in a general purpose brush. The desirable diameter for the special purpose will vary somewhat depending on the free length of the bristle. For conventional bristle type nylon, having in mind the special purposes of the brush of Figs. 1 to 5 and assuming a free length of about 1 inch, the bristle diameter should not be materially less than .025 of an inch or much if any more than .032 of an inch. With bristles having a diameter of the higher order indicated it is desirable to round the free end of the bristles to permit more vigorous pressure on the scalp without danger of a disagreeable scratching.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 is shown a modified or alternative structure illustrating the application of the invention to What may be termed a more general purpose hair brush, that is one primarily used for conventional hair brushing purposes, but more effective in that use than the conventional tufted brush.

As shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the brush back 10 is provided with bristle receiving openings in the form of a plurality of transversely spaced longitudinal grooves 16, preferably of a width only slightly larger than the diameter of the bristles 17. These narrow grooves may be molded, routed out or otherwise formed. The materials used may be the same as those described for the construction of the brush of Figs. 1 to 5 but the individual bristles while stiffiy flexible may be, and preferably are, in a lower diameter range, about .025 of an inch or less. They are therefore more fiexible-and there are more of them. Whereas the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 5 provides a superior brush where stimulation of the scalp is particularly desired, the structure shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 has been found preferable for general hair brush purposes since it provides a closer balance of utility. It will be understood that either form of bristle receiving opening, that is individual holes or narrow continuous grooves, may be used.

The specific number of bristles in either case is not narrowly critical. By way of comparison in brushes of comparable size the special purpose brush of Figs. 1 to 5 may have 8 to 10 rows of about 34 bristles each and the brush of Figs. 5, 7 and 8 may have 14 or 16 rows of about 55 bristles each. These compare with a conventional brush made up of 89 tufts presenting l4 bristle ends in each tuft.

In the conventional brush construction with which comparison has been made, each tuft is made up of a bundle of bristles folded on itself, the folded end of the bundle being inserted in a large hole in the back and mechanically fastened therein by a metal staple. The tuft hole is necessarily substantially deeper, more than twice as deep as the holes required in the brush of the present invention. In the conventional way of folding bundles of bristles to get the tuft formation much more bristle material is buried in the body of the brush back, which in a sense is a waste of expensive bristle material. In the single bristle arrangement of the present invention there is no such waste of bristle material, and

as above pointed out the conventional tufted construction requires a 50% greater thickness in the back to provide for the staples and take care of the stresses imposed by the stapling operation.

The special and general purpose forms of hair brush above described indicate the Wide range of application of the present invention. In any case the brush is characterized by a multiplicity of bristles of a charatcer exemplified by stretch oriented nylon of a diameter to permit each bristle to function independently, and each bristle being spaced from every other bristle throughout its length, and each being independently secured and sealed in an opening formed in a solid brush back by means of a thermo-setting cement or its equivalent. Preferably and as shown the bristles are arranged in longitudinal files, the bristles in a given file being substantially parallel and the bristles in adjacent files being offsct from each other transversely.

A hair brush constructed in accordance with this invention has many structural and functional advantages over hair brushes of the prior art. As above pointed out it permits a saving in material and labor. Furthermore, it is much more efficient in use. The bristles travel through the hair in substantially parallel paths and function independently of each other. For general brushing purposes the bristles while operating independently are sufficiently close together so that the hair receives a maximum of burnishing from contact with the bristles, and this burnishing contact is effective along the entire length of the bristles and because of the greater surface and resistance of the individual bristles a superior luster is imparted to the hair. The tendency in the case of tufted brushes for strands of the hair to become wedged between the bristles, where the latter converge toward the base of the tuft, and to become snarled in the tufts and broken off is completely avoided by the present construction. The brush of the present invention is far easier to keep free of broken hair strands and in a clean condition. The individual bristles together with the plastic cement I which secures them, completely fill the small or narrow openings in which they are positioned so that the surface of the brush back around the bristles presents a smooth, hard, water and moisture proof surface easily accessible for cleaning. No crevice or opening is presented in which dust, dirt or dandruff can lodge. The capillary action between the base portions of the bristles in the closely packed tufts of a conventional brush and which action tends to draw in, trap and retain oil and other substances in the base of the tufts, is entirely lacking.

What I claim is:

1. An all plastic hair brush the back of which comprises a solid block of a molded synthetic thermo-plnstic of the type commonly used for hair brushes, said back being formed with openings extending approximately .1 of an inch into, but not through, the back, stiflly flexible bristles positioned in said openings, each bristle being individually spaced from the others for independent operation and each consisting of a length of bristle type nylon having a diameter not materially less than .025 of an inch or more than .032 of an inch, each bristle extending into the opening in which it is positioned to substantially the full depth of the opening and having a free length of approximately one inch, and being permanently secured therein by a thermo-set cement integrally bonded to the bristle and the Wall surface of the opening and providing with the adjacent face of the back a smooth, hard, water and moisture-proof surface around the bristle.

2. An all plastic hair brush as defined in claim 1 in which said openings consist of a multiplicity of cylindrical openings, one for each bristle, said openings having a diameter .005 to .010 of an inch greater than the diameter of the bristle set therein.

3. An all plastic hair brush as defined in claim 1 in which said openings consist of spaced parallel grooves extending longitudinally of the back, said grooves being of uniform depth.

Kahn July 29, 1941 Hill June 10, 1879 Thompson July 8, 1884 Hanover Nov. 5, 1929 10 Dolan Feb. 17, 1931 Samuel Aug. 4, 1931 6 Angell Mar. 13, 1934 Schwab Jan. 14, 1936 Millard et a1. Feb. 17, 1942 Cave July 7, 1942 Myers Aug. 15, 1944 Allen Mar. 12, 1946 Cox Apr. 2, 1946 Hardman Aug. 27, 1946 Maynard Nov. 22, 1949 Bixler June 27, 1950 Meunier June 3, 1952 

